A rebels story
by Rabidchipmonk of doom
Summary: The Potter's were never attacked by Voldemort when Harry was a baby, instead he focused on taking down the Ministry of Magic. With Hogwarts breached and magical Britain at a standstill what will happen to the ever decreasing amount of rebels fighting for peace? Character pairings are currently undecided.
1. Dark the stars and dark the moon

It's been a while! This is just an idea that popped into my head during study leave!

WARNINGS: Character death, War themes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This disclaimer goes for all chapters of the story.

-XxX-

Base camp had only been set up for a few hours. Various wizards and witches hurried around setting up tents and seeing to children, the injured were placed in the main tent and treated to by the ever-decreasing number of Healers.

All was dark, clouds covered the moon and stars in an ominous veil.

Lights were kept to a minimum, anything to keep the night calm, a dim luminous no brighter than a flickering candle was permitted. Anything brighter could alert the Death Eaters and they would have to evacuate again.

-XxX-

Livestock rested in the darkness, finally feeling the peace in the cool night air having been rushed from one place to another amid various spells of increased potency.

No noises were made from the small paddock, set up with a small low energy shield that glowed blue. The shield reached about waist height and acted as a small barrier to circle the small amount of cows and a couple of horses, a small breach in the barrier had a makeshift gate made from many twigs and branches.

Chickens rested in a makeshift hut made from large and small twigs stuck together with a simple household charm in a rustic fashion, very alike to the gate.

The cows gave fresh milk and on the odd occasion, meat.

The chickens, about a dozen, provided a small amount of eggs to be rationed between the rebels. The horses pulled carriages when they relocated and the dead after a battle.

-XxX-

Hushed voices muttered back and forth as people worked as quickly as possible. Dumbledore had abandoned them some weeks ago and they had to take control of what they had. Dumbledore had been their strength, a beacon of hope, hope of peace. But when he abandoned them they knew that they had to live, even if it was to spite the powerful warlord.

A little group of small children was being looked after by a couple of teenage girls. The girls helped with daily life for the children as their mothers and fathers helped around the camp or were meeting Merlin in the next great adventure. They made sure that meals were eaten and that the children weren't bored, they tried to help out by making boring tasks into games, competitions.

The boys helped out wherever they could, whether that being looking after the livestock or helping the elderly. They did a lot of the labor around the camp and often helped with the children, most would make excellent fathers If they survived the war.

Many of the older rebels could remember when the darkness wasn't upon them, their unimportant jobs and stressful meeting, their children laughing and playing outside. Of course, that was impossible now; they had to grow up quickly. Everyone had to pitch in with the war effort, no matter of age or gender.

More tents had been erected around the camp, surrounding their main base tent in a semicircle. Teenage girls shepherded a group of sleepy children into one of the larger tents.

No wands were used between the teens; the trace still remained under Voldemort's reign and wands were impossible to purchase. Any wands owned by the younger generation were given to the older wizards who had either lost or broken their wands. Even if the wands didn't choose the wizard that was holding them they seemed to relax wand-lore for the second wizard war and worked enough to cast offensive and defensive spells.

Most of the time.

Flasks of water were passed between the children, whom guzzled the drink before passing it along, although not brilliantly hygienic the flasks would have to do. Water was precious and there was not much around. Water and other food was rationed between the rebels until another source was provided.

The girls settled the weary children into small sleeping bags on the floor. The children didn't really understand what was going on, they were usually moved quickly as son as a battle started. Each girl gave the children a small kiss on the forehead before turning down the small Muggle camping lamp that was suspended from the ceiling of the tent.

The girls got into bed themselves, watching over the children as they fell asleep. Sometimes they would have to wake a little one from sleep as nightmares consumed their dreams, as sadly a few of the children had watched as family and friends met their grizzly deaths.

Outside a group of boys helped an elderly man put up a smaller tent, it was a pup tent, only intended for one, but that was ok as the old wizard's wife had passed years ago. Saved from the degrading conditions and hard life, his wife was in a better place.

Once they completed their task the elder thanked them and collected a sleeping bag from the small mountain of Muggle bedding in the middle of the camp, they were kept on one of the carriages, off the floor to keep them dry.

The boys each collected a bag and walked into a medium sized tent they had put up earlier chatting jovially. There was still hope.

-XxX-

The tents were nothing special. With no access to the Wizarding world without being detected they had to make do using Muggle tents. The tents were cheap and a few were quite old. The only magical tent left was the base tent, looking small on the outside (a little like a tee pee) the tent had a room for a small field hospital and a planning room with a wizards radio, along with a basic kitchen and the only bathroom on the rebels camp.

The teens each had been given a Muggle debit card for emergency supplies, set up by their parents preemptively; they were topped up with funds from Gringotts. But as soon as Gringotts failed, the money would stop and they would have to survive by other means. But at the moment, if you could reach Gringotts, you would be the safest wizard alive.

This meant that in an emergency, they could take the children and escape to the Muggle world. The boys had been trained as much as possible in wandless magic and the teens had learned basic martial arts to protect themselves. All of the rebels were expected to keep physically fit. After all they were the future's only hope of peace.

-XxX-

Each person at the base was elected into a job, the teens were to look after the children and buy supplies from the Muggles. They seemed to fit in best and had knowledge hat the older wizards didn't possess in ways to pass as a normal Muggle.

The smaller children were expected to listen to their elders and learn what they could, basic mathematics and English along with a limited amount of science and a small amount of emergency magic was taught (although the child's accidental magic could help save them, it was not always enough) by the older people on the camp.

The middle aged wizards were expected to protect the base, it contained all they had left and the most precious thing of all, Harry.

Harry. Their last hope. Currently the black haired green-eyed boy was laid on a camp bed in the main base tent, various bottles of potions scattered around the base of the fold up cot. His forehead was bandaged, blood seeping through in an enlarged lightning bolt. His right hand and foot were wrapped in a large layer of bandages. He looked delicate, prone.

He had helped in the last battle, protecting the children as they ran to a safer place, and had been hit by a couple of curses. His leg was fractured and his hand burned badly. They had managed to collect him as they fled but they didn't have the potions on hand to heal his hand and leg, so he was dosed up on sleeping potions as it saved on precious pain relievers.

Next to him lain an older woman, in her late thirties, early forties, with red hair sprawled underneath her head.

Lilly Potter, she wasn't doing well, breaths shallow and a pale look upon her face, her lips had been slowly turning a forget-me-not blue during the last few hours, her hair was no longer glossy and had a dull dead look about it.

James Potter, Lilly's husband was dead. They had not been able to recover his body, left to rot in the field he lay in. He had fought valiantly like so many fallen but fell to the shadows, into the inky blackness and everlasting slumber of death. He rested next to his best friends, Remus and Sirius, they had fought in a triangle, Lilly had lain injured in the middle, they had only fallen after Lilly had been slipped out by the Rebel healers and taken away for treatment.

Lilly breathed a small sigh. Her face was as white as the moon that bled through the thin lining of the tent. She shifted slightly in her sleep, facing towards Harry. She smiled slightly in her sleep as she dreamt of her husband and son.

Further up the tent someone moaned, waking Lilly. Her strawberry blonde eyelashes fluttered up slowly and her eyes, eyes that had lost so much of their character and held so much pain, landed on her son. She coughed, a small amount of blood working its way to her blue lips. She smiled again, a proud smile. Her eyes fluttered shut and she slept again.

Never to awaken in the morning.

-XxX-

The early dawn rose upon the camp. There had been a thin frost overnight, picking up the details in the small spiders webs and turning each blade of grass to a pale mint green. The red sunrise created a foreboding air above the base. Another soul had been lost overnight.

The camps healers had found Lilly in the early morn. They moved the body from next to the orphan and placed it in one of the rudimentary coffins that they had at the base. They only had basic ways of respectfully caring for the dead, wooden caskets were made by some of the older witches and wizards, they weren't anything special but they would have to do.

All was quiet as the camp slowly awoke. No one dared to make much noise as they got up and started to get ready for the day. A couple of witches emerged from a tent and checked on the cattle and horses, checking the shield and adding a little more power before letting out the chickens. They checked for eggs and collected what was there and turned back to the cows. The pair set themselves with a bucket each as a stool and placed another bucket under the cow's udders and milked the cattle, two by two.

On the other side of the camp wizards searched the nearby wooded area for bits of twigs and pieces of wood, being careful not to collect greenwood, as it would smoke excessively and possibly alert the enemy. Once they collected enough they set it in the middle of the camp close to the base tent and lit the fire.

The rationing began.

The camp's healers came over first and received some eggs which had been cooked in a Muggle frying pan over the fire, they each received a piece of slightly sooty toast which had been cooked with a pair of tongues.

The Teenage girls were emerging from their tent, their hair stood on end from sleeping in a way that was quite popular with the Muggle girls, but they didn't know that. They yawned and stumbled their way over to the campfire and each received a bowl of cheap Muggle cereal – Liddle's home-branded Rice Crispies – and a small amount of milk from the cows. The boys came over a few minutes later and received the same.

Other wizards and witches stumbled out of their tents and received breakfast, the healers returned to the base tent. Life went on, even in war.

The news that Lilly had died overnight didn't reach the citizens of the camp until after breakfast. There was a somber mood for a few hours but they had to move on quickly and by lunch they were all chatting about the camps most recent mishaps.

-XxX-

Harry blinked awake to see bushy hair and a blur of orange. He groped around the floor next to the camp bed with his left hand before grasping his glasses. He fumbled them on, the world came into focus, and smiled at the pair, they were lip locked (and possibly had been for quite a while) and hadn't seen him wake. Ron's hand slipped down behind Hermione's shirt and Harry looked away quickly. He glanced across to his Mothers bed.

Empty.

Had she woken up? Was she better? Was she… No he couldn't think like that, the Healers had obviously taken her outside for a breath of fresh air. They had done that with the sick and healing before.

Hermione and Ron emerged from their own world, flushed and out of breath.

"Harry! I... We.. Umm hi?" Hermione offered blushing and panting a little. Ron, who had turned an interesting shade of red, looked at the amused expression on Harry's face, "Have they told you? About your Mum?" Harry looked slightly confused, Ron spluttered. Hermione took over.

"Harry, she didn't make it…" Harry smiled,

"No I think the Healers took her outside, y' know for a breath of fresh air, she'll come in soon." Ron shook his head.

"Sorry mate, she went last night." Harry shook his head in disbelief,

"No, she wouldn't leave me, not after Dad…" He pushed.

"I'm sorry Harry." Hermione put a hand on his arm softly.

A single tear ran down Harry's face it was quickly followed by another and another. Soon Harry was sobbing in Hermione's arms. Ron patted Harry's back awkwardly with rough manly pats.

"The funeral is tonight Harry." Hermione choked out. The couple shed a few tears with their best friend; Lilly had been a loving mother, a shining example of a young family matron. Most of all she had been their mother when their biological ones weren't around.

-XxX-

The rest of the day passed without many wrongdoings and dusk settled around the camp. A spectacular sunset marked Lilly Potters funeral, Harry sat on the back of one of the carriages as Lilly was buried. The eldest wizard of the camp traditionally said a few words, saying that Lilly would be at peace with her husband and friends. Hermione and Ron sat either side of him. Hermione's arm was snaked 'round his waist, Ron's arm rested on his shoulder. He was angry, angry that she'd left him alone, with this humongous burden on his shoulders. The prophecy and the worst of all…

Being the last Potter.

The night passed swiftly with a solemn finality to it.

-XxX-

The morning rose without a sound, no birds chirped, no rustling of wind.

Silent.

Dead.

The camp rose and went about their various activities oblivious to the silence; children were woken and sat in a circle about the elders. The teens helped clean. A small rustle went unnoticed to the busy warlocks.

Unknowingly the magicians filled the silence as best they could with chattering and clattering items together. But a somber air stifled the camp.

A sudden rustle went unannounced at the back of the camp, behind the tents and the rebels went on with their tasks. It was a hot day and flies whizzed around the wizards who lazily batted them away. The humid air made them want to rest, but they felt uneasy. Like something was going to happen.

A couple of branches moved over to the side of the camp, also unnoticed. Cattle shifted and moved away from the wooded grounds and the horses snorted and breathed in the air, nostrils flared. Chickens perched upon the top of their hut. Another branch moved, noticed by a few wizards but dismissed as animals.

-XxX-

Healers surrounded Harry's bed, they were healing his hand, but it was a slow job. The Healers didn't have much energy and therefore magic, so healing was done a little at a time in a group. Harry's hand was most likely to get infected so they healed that first, his leg would have to heal naturally.

Once the hand was healed a support bandage was placed on it to give it support and protect it a little as the skin would be tender.

A Muggle born carried across some cotton wool and wrapped it around the fractured leg, his entire calf was covered and a layer of fluff protected the bottom of his foot along with the heel.

The young wizard went back and collected a bundle of bandages and a bucket of hand-mixed plaster-of-paris. He dipped a bandage in the white mixture and wrapped it around the cotton wool. He continued this process until the entire calf and foot was covered with the warm plaster except for a small fluffy overhang that filled the gap at the top and bottom of the cast. The makeshift cast was left to dry as the young wizard dropped into a light slumber.

-XxX-

Outside more branches moved unnaturally and a strange silence fell between the wizard counterparts.

Suddenly a huge rustling fell through the camp. Masses of birds fled all at once, the distress calls resounding through the forest, a stark contrast to the silent day. Many wizards jumped at the sudden noise.

A glimpse of black in the dappled sunlight alerted the wizards that something was amiss, twins walked cautiously towards the area the mass had been seen at, they paused and looked at each other comically, ginger hair gleaming in the sun before letting out an all mighty battle cry and charging into the woods.

It was meant to be humorous, to make light of the situation. They believed that they had just seen a shadow, made up in their minds as a result of the tense situation. A couple of the rebels chuckled at the young men's antics

Silence reigned over the campers. Suddenly the twins were sprinting back as if the devil was on their heels, their faces, white as sheets. They stopped dead and together muttered two words, words that would change the life of the wizards yet again.

"Death Eaters."

-XxXxXxXxXxX-

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	2. Hush the night and the morning loon

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-XxX-

All hell broke loose. The silence of the day disappeared with two hushed words. Fred and George stood for a moment, shaking before coming to their senses and helping out wherever they could for the oncoming battle. Tents were being evacuated and shrunk onto pockets.

-XxX-

An elderly wizard and witch disappeared into the main tent and came out with a round piece of parchment. They hurried to the cattle and chickens. The chickens were shooed into their hutch which was quickly attached to a harness and that harness placed on one of the horses. The cows were tied together with string through their head collars. The other horse remained behind to pull a carriage if needed. The elderly couple gathered various lead ropes and watched the parchment intensely.

Across the camp a witch was helping to gather anything that could be used as a weapon. Various cooling knives were picked up as they could be cleaned and sterilized at the end of the battle. She handed out the weapons and improvised weapons between the rebels.

The Weasley twins had gathered items from their tent and were passing them around with brief explanations of what the item was and what it did along with how to use it.

Most rebels were setting off a couple of practice spells with the wands they had borrowed or taken.

The forests remained still, silent and a couple of Wizards found themselves doubting the young men. The Weasley twins were known for pranks around the camp. They dismissed the thoughts and helped out anyway – it couldn't hurt to be prepared.

The camp had only just survived the last attack. Dumbledore had abandoned them, believing that they would all be slaughtered by the Death Eaters, that they had betrayed him.

He had all ready thrown two refugees from the camp, believing that they were contacting the Dark lord and the Death Eaters.

Gone was the friendly headmaster with a spark of laughter in his eyes, he had been replaced by a cold, calculating man with paranoia stronger than Mad-eye Moody.

The two wizards he had exiled were innocent and although most of the camp had disliked them they knew that the two were not traitors.

A few of the rebels had stood up to Dumbledore and so Dumbledore had abandoned them. The abandonment had hit them hard. They had relied on Dumbledore for tactical support. He had also kept their hopes up and encouraged them to survive. It was a big blow.

-XxX-

The rebels already knew what kind of damage could happen and they had to protect the main base tent at all costs, that was the only safe place for the injured and currently held their last hope, Harry. They had to evacuate Harry too; he would go with the children as he had a good knowledge of the Muggle world.

People ran all over screaming at others to prepare for battle.

Confused teens emerged from tents only to go back to collect the children, helping the youngest to shrug on coats and shoes and collecting a small amount of provisions. Luckily there were no babies on the camp. The situation would be very different if that was the case.

The boys rushed to help out, they shepherded the children out towards the base tent, surrounding the children in a circle. The children huddled together in a group as panic washed over them. They could see the older wizards and witches were worried about something and that worried them more.

-XxX-

There was no sign of any Death Eaters yet but that didn't mean anything in the wizarding world. Anyone could be disillusioned, anything could be fake; trees, friends even thin air. Although rare there were a few invisibility cloaks around, proof remained with Harry. The wizarding world had been fooled a couple of times with animagus. The rebels with the ability sometimes went out to collect information and intelligence. Their animal forms fooling wizards and witches into a false sense of security.

-XxX-

They reached the tent as Harry was pulling himself out of the camp bed. He reached under the bed and pulled out a small Muggle backpack filled with his invisibility cloak and a small Muggle knife and a small first aid kit. There were also a few bits and pieced made by the Weasley twins that could be used to disorientate and confuse enemies.

He pulled the bloodied bandage off of his head, his scar had stopped bleeding a couple of hours ago and a crust of blood had formed around the cut.

-XxX-

The Healers rushed around collecting vital items and preparing for casualties. Beds were stripped and reset with alarming efficiency, medical supplies littered every surface. Items were being sterilized and anyone who was healed enough to fight was being forced out of their beds. They needed as many beds free as possible. They were counting on the protection of the other rebels or they were going to die pretty quickly if the battle reached the tent.

Outside witches and wizards surrounded the base tent, erecting a medium strength shield, it was enough to stop stray spells damaging the tent and also stopped anyone entering the tent unless they were a resident of the camp. They would have to defend the occupants inside with their bodies and minds.

-XxX-

Hermione came away from the formation around the children and helped to prop Harry up. His white cast put the young wizards off kilter. It was dry, but heavy and they Healers didn't have any crutches. If worst came to worst then he would have to use some sticks to support himself.

"I'm ok Hermione, help with the children." He tried to pull away from the bushy haired girl. He was all ready thinking of wandless spells he could use. He might be injured but he was going to help out.

"No Harry, buy yourself another day, you need to go with us and heal before you fight!" She said as she helped him limp away with the children. He fought briefly against the girl but she shuffled him towards the operations room.

Ron led the pack of children further into the tent and into the planning room.

-XxX-

There was a hustle in the air in the small canvas room and Harry had half expected to see Dumbledore giving out commands and organizing the rebels, but no, Dumbledore was no longer there to help them, he was probable waiting out the war in a home in a foreign country, safe and sound. They didn't have that luxury.

Harry and Hermione came forward towards the wizards in the center around a table covered in maps. Each map was identical and had the names of everyone in the camp and more than a few uninvited guests. Footprints showered the camp area as the frenzy was shown, the remaining names stayed at an almost standstill, only moving slowly and occasionally.

The maps were the handiwork of the late James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Very similar to the Mauders map of Hogwarts the maps showed every living person within a half-mile radius of the map.

They was much more handy than the original map as they showed who was around you wherever you went – as long as you remained in magical Britain. There were nine or ten undamaged maps remaining.

After each relocation the remaining rebels would try to regroup using the maps and therefore would return the map to 'headquarters', they were also very useful for those protecting the children to avoid Death Eaters.

The maps also had the similar feature of witty comments when placed in the wrong hand. The map would refuse to show itself to any enemy of the camp. Various comment had been made by the campers, including a personal message to Voldemort, (from Harry) another to Bellatrix (courtesy of Neville) and many others.

Harry hopped forwards and grabbed a map from the table, Ron looked over his shoulder at the map.

"Bloody hell!" The sheer amount of Death Eaters that surrounded the camp was astounding. Hermione gave him a nudge.

"Ron! Language in front of the childr… Bloody hell, that's a lot of Death Eaters!" She gasped quietly before slapping her hand over her mouth.

"Is there a clear path out?" Harry shook his head, they studied the movements of the Dark Lord's minions a moment more,

"Why aren't they attacking?" Ron puzzled, "They know that we know that they're here. Why are they stood there?"

Suddenly Harry was on his knees, white-hot pain flashed through his head, the screams of a thousand tortured souls poured themselves into his skull. He rocked slightly as another wave crossed his mind, instantly whiting his vision.

For a few moments he blacked out, collapsing on the floor. His head banged hard against the floor as another flash of searing pain scorched its way through his head.

Nothing but shrill ringing filled his ears. He couldn't see anything other than white. Yet another wave of torment rose over the teen, he jerked on the floor, as if he was having a fit.

It stopped. Harry lay on the floor, gasping like a fish without water. His scar was bleeding again. His body ached from the fits. Hermione pulled his head onto her lap, Ron helping to lay Harry out comfortably on the ground.

The adults had seen this scene many times before and knew that Harry's friend were perfectly capable of helping their savior. They rushed out to distribute the maps.

As soon as Harry collapsed the other teens rushed the children out of the canvas room, they knew how horrific Harry's attacks wer

Voldemort was literally forcing pure pain onto the boy through a scar in the teen's head.

The scar had been forged during an attack on Godrics Hollow, Harry and a few other children had been captured by Death Eaters; Harry was the only one to survive and still had nightmares every so often on the horrific torture and the death of his friends.

He had been marked, literally marked, Voldemort made the Lightning bolt upon his forehead personally when he refused to break from the torture. Aurors had been blasting away at the protections around the building and when they broke through, they saw only one survivor, Harry. James had been grateful that his little boy had survived unlike the other children.

Voldemort said that he would break Harry in the future and that no one else was to try to kill the boy. Every time Voldemort communicated to the Death Eaters via the Dark mark, Harry would be tortured. It was a blessing and a curse, they could keep track of Voldemort's meetings but it caused Harry agonizing pain to do so. Harry jerked a couple more times as after flashes of pain rode through his body.

Hermione ran her hand up and down Harry's arm as Ron fought to uncurl Harry's right hand, it had only just healed from the battle, Harry wouldn't need another injury to go with his Muggle cast.

Suddenly all the tension left Harry's body. Screams of pain reigned out as the attack finally started.

They had to get Harry out of here; Ron helped pick his best mate off of the floor and shrugged the boy's arm over his shoulder. Hermione slid under Harry's other arm, Ron took most of Harry's weight and the boy stumbled a few paces every so often to help out a bit but never putting the cast on the floor. Harry swayed slightly as he was held. His vision rocked back and forth as if he was in a boat on a rough sea.

Neville picked up the map from the floor and in a fit of confidence lead the way for the children and Harry. They stepped outside and Harry was nearly blinded by the sunlight in his daze.

When they reached the edge of the protective shield, they stepped out. It was Smokey with different coloured light zipping through. They dodged a couple of spells that missed their target.

Neville lead them through the battlefield, dodging around bodies, friend and foe alike. The children were pale and scared as they watched with large eyes, the destruction around them.

-XxX-

The cattle and chickens were gone and only one horse remained under a protective bubble. The horse stood out, a contrast in the muddy battlefield. It was happily eating grass, tail swishing behind it. The shield prevented the horse from seeing and hearing the battle. Oblivious to the fight it was a symbol of hope, one day they would be able to live peacefully if they won this battle and any more that came, they could eventually be like the horse.

-XxX-

They ran towards the edge of the woods and further from the deadly battle. A couple of spell followed them into the woods but hit trees as they travelled. Flashes of multicolored lights lit up the smoke behind them.

Harry let Ron and Hermione hold him up, his scar leaking a huge amount of blood and it was making him dizzy. His leg was aching fiercely and his vision had a slight black ring around it.

Usually his Mum and Dad have cared for him when an attack happened but they were both dead now, he had to rely on someone else. He had never had an attack and a battle so close together. He had always had time to heal slightly and rest before fighting.

Random searing pain flashed across his mind like sparks adding to his humongous headache.

Neville lead the group through a clearing in the fighting, the trees on this side of the forest leaned to the left, leading them away from the camp. He felt confident for the first time in his life. He was helping! They dodged stray spells as they ran into the forest.

He could see various Death Eaters on the map that he recognized by face and name and knew that they wouldn't want to get caught today, especially with Harry in the state he was in. They wouldn't survive capture today.

The children struggled through the undergrowth and Ginny had to pick up the youngest. The children held hands the eldest pulling the front, the youngest trailed behind as if they were a paper-chain. Seamus pushed along the children at the back. Harry was last, being dragged by Hermione and Ron. He was now almost deadweight.

Ginny, Neville, Seamus and the children were all pulling away from the three pretty quickly in their panic. It was organized chaos. They stayed together, running to safety.

-XxX-

Harry was extremely exhausted now and could barely keep his eyes open as they ran from their deaths. He was quite pale too and blood was still flowing freely from his scarred forehead. His leg encased in the cast now dragged behind in the mud.

Hermione and Ron were starting to get tiered. As the camp's rations were spread thinner, less food reached the teens, all this running and carrying Harry was sapping their energy. They knew that they couldn't carry Harry for much longer, but refused to leave him behind. They couldn't just abandon their best friend.

Harry realized this.

"Guys, put me down, we're far away enough now. Get to Neville and help him set up something for the children, then come and fetch me." He pleaded in exhaustion.

"It will be all over soon" Hermione shook her head but Harry spoke again.

"I've got the map, I can keep myself safe until you guys come back." Ron lowered Harry onto the floor at the base of a tree. He could no longer hold Harry up.

"Stay safe mate." He muttered. Hermione looked torn. She didn't want to abandon Harry, especially as he was the hope of all people on the good side. She bit her lip.

Sounds of the ongoing battle blew on the wind, she checked the map, no one except them had strayed into the radius.

"You better still be around here Harry when we come for you!" She scolded the boy. Harry leaned his head against the bark of the tree and nodded slightly. He was relieved just to sit and rest.

Ron and Hermione set off at a jog, looked back only once and then followed the path of Neville and the children. They had to help out, the children needed a place to stay and Hermione was the only one with a true understanding of the Muggle world.

Ron couldn't speak to a Muggle without saying something weird.

Seamus knew quite a bit about Muggles, but didn't know how to secure a place for them all to sleep, he was only interested in football.

Ginny didn't know much about the Muggle world and being thirteen almost fourteen; she couldn't buy many of the essentials without weird looks.

Neville was almost useless in any situation, but today he had impressed Hermione, he had kept his cool and had rounded up the children and led them away with minimal panic. She was still needed though.

-XxX-

Harry sighed loudly, all strain leaving his body as his back molded to the shape of the tree trunk. He watched his best friends jog away.

He was dizzy, but he expected to be worse off when the adrenalin wore off. His head throbbed in time with his elevated heartbeat. His vision had started to tunnel, black circles surrounding everything he looked at.

He glanced at the map, which lay across his legs. He looked up before realizing that he was not alone on the round piece of parchment He frowned as he saw two nametags hurrying towards him, their footprints getting quicker as they came closer.

Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape.

-XxXxXxXxX-

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